Lou Jie (second from right), a researcher with the Dunhuang Academy, introduces a replica of a Mogao Cave to visitors at a preview of the Beyond the Bounds of History exhibition in Beijing's Palace Museum on Thursday. JIANG DONG/CHINA DAILY

Two Chinese cultural heritage sites have joined hands to present a major exhibition highlighting their lasting glamour and the significance of the ancient Silk Road.

On Friday, Beyond the Bounds of History: A Collaborative Exhibition between the Palace Museum and Dunhuang Academy opened in the Meridian Gate Galleries in the Forbidden City in Beijing. It will run for two months.

The Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu province, carved from the 4th to 14th centuries, represent the longest-used Buddhist shrine complex in the world. Exquisite murals and sculptures remain in 492 of the caves there. The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, was China's royal palace from 1420 to 1911. It is also the world's largest architectural compound made of wood.